"Construction work on the residential towers has begun, while the foundation work for the office and hotel towers will begin at the end of the year," said Shum Yip deputy general manager Peter Kok Kai-lam yesterday.

Kok added that the project was scheduled for completion in 2017 or 2018.

The development, on Sungang West Road, near Futian's central business district, comprises two office-hotel towers, a three-storey shopping centre and two luxury residential buildings. Incorporated into the project is 100,000 square metres of loft space, for mixed use. The project will have a total gross floor area of 1.12 million sq metres.

"The 650-flat residential project will be launched for sale in two months. We aim to sell 30 per cent of the flats by the end of this year," Kok said, adding that the asking price had yet to be decided. The flats range in size from 106 to 450 sq metres.

The outlook for the retail property market is uncertain as mainland developers have rushed to build malls over the past few years. Many of them have few tenants.

"Most malls are packaged as high-end shopping centres. They are targeting customers aged over 35 years who have buying power. Our shopping mall is trying to attract young people, in the 25-35 age group, along with high-end buyers," Kok said.

"We believe the consumption pattern of mainlanders will shift from top-tier luxury products to products with a unique style."

The 167,000 sq metre shopping mall will have an open area connected to shops and nearby parks.

"People can ride their bicycles from the parks to our mall and go to work in the loft," Kok said. "You will also see … stylish boutiques in the mall."

The developer is selecting tenants for a cinema and the food court and will start leasing shop space next year.

"We will sell one of the towers as grade A office space as the demand for such office space is strong. We will keep the other one for leasing," Kok said.

He added that office space demand from technology companies and multinational firms was strong.

Shum Yip signed an agreement with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel yesterday. Mandarin Oriental will open its hotel on the top floor of one of the towers.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Shum Yip to put HK$25binto Shenzhen project